


Stone Soup

by yhlee (etothey)



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Cooking, Food, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23898025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etothey/pseuds/yhlee
Summary: The best soup is a stone soup.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Stone Soup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Edonohana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edonohana/gifts).



Karen woke up drenched in sweat. Between the fever and the headache, it took her several moments to remember the injuries that had forced her and Frank to take cover in this dismal shack. It didn't smell as bad in the room as she remembered from...last night? Three nights ago? It was a bad sign that she wasn't sure.

In fact, it didn't smell bad, period. She thought she detected a whiff of...food? Beef stew? Surely she was imagining that.

"You're up," Frank said, looking up from where he was sitting across from her, contemplating or cataloging ordnance. By now Karen was inured to his stashes of ammo and explosives.

Karen blinked and struggled to sit up. The room was dim, lit only by a single flickering light bulb. She saw no windows, and the single door was barricaded.

Frank shook his head at her efforts.

Karen would ordinarily have protested, but the pain spiked just then, and she fell back, gasping.

Frank's large, steady hands eased her back against the pillow. He didn't admonish her for pushing herself too hard. Instead, he said, "You must be hungry."

She opened her mouth to object, then realized he was right, even if the hunger was a distant, gnawing ache.

"Don't argue," he added. "You need food to heal."

Karen fought down a hysterical laugh. "I don't see a pizza joint around the corner."

"There's a working gas range in the room," Frank said. "One of the reasons I picked this place."

"So I'm not imagining the beef stew."

"Nope." He unfolded himself from the floor where he'd been sitting and strode across the room to, wonder of wonders, the aforementioned gas range.

Karen squinted. Now that she wasn't as distracted by the pain, she could see the big pot, dented but shiny, and the faint glow of the gas flame beneath. The aroma of the stew was delectable, rich with the promise of root vegetables and savory beef.

Hunger wasn't as distant as she'd thought it was. Karen's mouth began to water.

"It's just about ready," Frank added, as if he'd divined her thoughts.

Karen supposed she hadn't been attempting to smooth over her expression. "It smells delicious. What's your secret?"

"Magic stone I picked up on a walk in the woods," he said, deadpan.

She made a face at him. "Come on, you don't seriously expect me to believe the old story of stone soup!"

"Stone makes the best soup I've ever had," Frank said. He wasn't smiling, except with his voice. He tasted the soup, looked thoughtful, nodded. "It's ready."

Frank brought a bowl over to her. Karen took a moment to inhale the smell deeply. He put the spoon in her hand, which was when she discovered that she couldn't hold it steady.

Without comment, Frank took it from her. He spooned up a delectable-looking morsel of beef with a bit of sliced carrot and blew on it to cool it, looking so serious that Karen couldn't help but laugh. The laugh turned into a grimace as the pain flared up again. Frank didn't take offense or comment, but simply waited for her to nod weakly so he could offer the spoonful to her.

Karen wouldn't have thought it possible, but the soup tasted even better than it smelled. There was something about the savoriness that had a depth that she hadn't expected. Ordinarily she was good at picking out flavors, but right now all she wanted to do was luxuriate in the sensations, everything from the just-hot-enough temperature to the richness of the broth, from the subtle sweetness of the carrot to the meltingly tender beef, which fell apart in her mouth the moment she tried to chew it.

When she'd swallowed, Karen stared at Frank and said, "I know you're good at soups, but this is even better than the last one."

"Told you that stone was magic," he said. He was ready with another spoonful.

Karen grinned. "The only stone in that soup is your heart."

He didn't smile then, either, but Karen could tell he was pleased.


End file.
